1. Field of the Invention
This invention is generally related to round hay baling machines and more specifically to a twine feed assembly which cooperates with portions of the feed drum and main hay feed press roller to introduce a continuous single loop of twine about the hay as it is rolled within the baling machine. More specifically, sheaves are mounted so as to be freely rotatable with respect to spaced segments of each of the hay feed press roller and the main hay feed belt drive drum so that twine being fed into the machine will pass into the machine together with the hay and expand outwardly as the hay is rolled without the twine experiencing adverse frictional engagement with the press roller and feed drum as the twine will pass over and in between the freely rotatable sheaves. In addition, the invention further includes a twine feed mechanism which allows for the free-end of the twine to be engaged and secured and which is pivotable so as to introduce an intermediate section of the twine into the space between the main hay feed press roller and the main belt drive drum so that the intermediate portion of the twine will be engaged by the hay as it enters into the bale forming belts of the baling machine.
With the present invention, after the bale has reached its desired size, a release mechanism is actuated which causes the knotter assembly to pivot to knot the twine after which the twine is cut so that the bale is free to be discharged from the baling machine.
The twine feed assemblies of the present invention act to provide a single wrap of twine about the bale of hay at each location in which sheaves are positioned along the length of the feed press roller and belt drive drum, respectively. In some instances where extremely small bales are being rolled, a single wrap of twine may be sufficient to bind the bale after it has been rolled. Generally, however, at least two twine feed assemblies will be incorporated thereby requiring two sets of spaced sheaves to be mounted along the length of the hay intake or feed press roller and the belt drive drum through which twine may be played out, knotted and cut by the twine feed members of the present invention. Additional twine feed assemblies may be incorporated if necessary.
2. History of the Related Art
Although there are various structures for forming round hay bales, the present invention is designed to be incorporated with the type of round hay balers which incorporate a feed or press roller which is spaced adjacent to a belt drive drum and wherein the hay is introduced between the belts driven by the primary belt drive drum and the hay feed or press roller. After passing between the hay feed roller and the primary belts, the hay is engaged between oppositely rotating sets of belts which belts are mounted so as to be expandable relative to one another as the hay continues to be introduced into the machine with the roll of hay increasing in diameter. An example of such a machine is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,424,821 to Harrer. The contents of this patent are incorporated into the specification to disclose the association of the primary belt drive roll or drum and the primary hay feed roller or press roll. Further, this reference discloses one manner in which the twine which is utilized to wrap rolled bales of hay is mounted with respect to the belts which are utilized to form the rolled bales of hay.
In U.S. Pat. No. 2,410,159 to Harrer et al., one type of twine feed mechanism is disclosed for use in hay balers such as disclosed in Harrer U.S. Pat. No. 2,424,821. With this type of feed apparatus, the end of the twine is introduced between the belt drive drum and the press roller after the bale has achieved a predetermined dimension. The twine feed mechanism initially introduces the free-end of the twine between the press roll and the drive drum and thereafter a special carrier is moved across the length of the press roll and belt drive drum so that the twine is wrapped in a spiral manner across the full length of the rolled hay bale. After the bale has been wrapped, the twine is knotted and cut and the bale is discharged from the machine. With this type of tying apparatus, an excessive amount of twine is required to secure each bale that is formed within the baling machine. This is due to the necessity that the twine be wrapped in a spiral manner from one end to the other of the general cyclindrical roll of hay and in some instances a double wrap is utilized to secure the bale.
In addition to the extreme waste of twine which is associated with such prior art twining devices, when the twine is introduced between the press roll and the belt drive drum, the amount of friction created by the drums and rollers engaging the twine is significant and can sometimes result in actually severing the twine as the twine is being wrapped about the rolled bale of hay. For this reason, such an arrangement is not believed to be efficient or satisfactory for continuous operation during use. If a length of twine is severed, the operator must re-initiate the tying procedure by restarting the movement or operation of the twine feed mechanism. This results in down time during the baling operating which is also undesirable.
Additional examples of binding mechanisms for round hay balers are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,133,258 to Popiolek et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 4,182,235 to Harig et al.